Tuesday, 8 May 2012

Number 25

I have had a few different crafty things I've wanted to do for a while now, and so this bank holiday weekend I thought 'hey - no time like the present'.

So this is the first in a series of blogs about crafting - Today's topic - Trouser Monsters

I am fed up of having to buy new trousers every time my children make a hole in the knee, so I have devised this quick fix, which not only fixes the hole but according to Mo is "so cool".

A few tips to start with -

These don't need to be perfectly sewn, monsters are scary, scruffy things so don't panic over the details too much.

To make a knot at the end of your thread, wrap it around the tip of your finger 3 times, then roll it off, push it down and it will be in a knot.

Use a different colour thread to the colour of the eyes, black, blue, green or brown work really well.

You will need:

Trousers with a hole

Red fabric

White fabric

Thread for hand sewing

Needle

Pins

Sewing machine (you can hand sew on all steps however if a machine isn't available)

Contrasting bobbin thread to the trouser colour for the machine

1 large button

1 small button

1. Take your old pair of trousers and trim the hole so it is an oval shape with no frayed bits of fabric.

2. Cut out a piece of red/black/green fabric that will cover the hole - you want to have about 1.5cm overlap so you have enough room to sew it.

3. Cut a white piece of fabric to look like spiky teeth, and pin it to the top of the red/black/green fabric.

4. Hand sew (if you know how - I don't) or use a sewing machine and sew across the top of the red/black/green and white fabric so that it will stay in place when you sew it into the trousers.

5. Turn the trousers inside out and place your red/black/green and white fabric mouth and teeth to cover the hole, then pin all the way around, make sure the teeth are shorter than the gap as you want them to stick out a bit and not be sewn.

6. Hand sew (yes even though I can't) around the edges with just a simple in and out motion, so that it will be easier to keep in place while sewing on the machine, I found the pins got in the way at this point - hence the hand sew!

7. Thread the trouser leg onto your machine and sew around so the fabric is fixed together and the hole will be mended. Don't worry that you can see the stitching on the other side, this will give your trouser monster more of a shape, you could even use the zigzag stitch to create a spiky monster.

8. Turn the trousers back the right way and attach one large and one small button just above the mouth.

9. Pick out all the thread you hand sewed with to keep the fabric in place before the final sew - you should be able to just pull it and it will come out.

10. Ta Dah! Show your little monsters the trouser monster that has invaded their trousers to rapturous applause! heehee.

So there you have it, a quick fix and a cool way to renew the life of your little monsters trousers - this could also be done on coats, t-shirts or anything else that gets a hole in.

I will be back tomorrow with another craft filled blog, but for now I am at home looking after my oldest and youngest, and myself as we all have tummy bugs - yuck!